The Random Phoenix

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

So, I promised you that I will be more active and prolific from now on, and I come to deliver with a wash day post. I haven't done one in a while basically because I haven't done much. I have been skimping on pre-poo and DC sessions (I know! Sacrilege!), I have SO much new growth even though I'm only a bit over 12 weeks post (I'm NOT sure how much, I just know that I last relaxed in December, between my birthday and Christmas, okay maybe I'm 14 weeks post)

So, I started off with a decent prepoo, using a little mixture of old conditioners and some kitchen basics.

My pre-poo mix

So, I made a prepoo mixture of Sunsilk Argan Oil Conditioner, Avon Advance Techniques Supreme Oils Conditioner, honey, coconut oil and salt. The latter I have read about on a couple of blogs, that it also increases the moisturising abilities of conditioners. So, mixed it all together, slapped it on, rubbed it through and then covered my hair with a plastic cap and a beanie and started watching Troy.

Amount of hair lost during detangling when I applied the prepoo mix.

My prepoo selfie, lmao!

I chilled for a while, then shampooed with Avon Advance Techniques Supreme Oils shampoo. When I rinsed the prepoo, my hair felt SO ridiculously soft!!! I then just did a quick smoothing conditioning with the Sunsilk conditioner and THEN I did my first HARD protein treatment ever!

Remember I told y'all that I bought a bunch of new products in London that are generally unavailable in Windhoek, and one of those beauties was the Aphogee Two Step Protein treatment.

Guys, this thing stinks! I swear, it smells like rotten eggs and smelly feet mixed together. It also has a very runny consistency. i didn't have a spray bottle this time, but next time I will definitely rather use a spray bottle to apply this stuff.

So I applied it all over, concentrating on my ratty ends. I kept it on for about 5 minutes until I started feeling my hair getting hard from the product. I then rinsed it as gently as possible. Even after all the protein was gone my hair still felt super stiff, so I gave it another quick smoothing with the sunsilk conditioner before deep conditioning with another self made mix.

Amount of hair lost during the shampoo, protein, rinsing and DC application and rinsing processes.

My DC mix

As y'all can see, my DC mix mirrors my prepoo mixture, with the conditioner changing to Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends, also picked up at Boots in London. Side note: Honey, coconut oil and salt are now officially staples to add to ANY conditioner to up it's quotient into DC territory.

Same routine - plastic cap, beanie and continue watching Troy. I cannot recall how long my DC session was, I get lost in time when I watch Troy (I mean, who wouldn't??)

Then rinse, my hair feeling super soft, but stronger than it's felt in months. Thank you Aphogee!!! Also shout out to Ebony and KLP for the advice last night via Twitter!

I then applied my leave ins - MorrocanOil Treatment and Herbal Essences Bee Strong Creme, the latter also a London pick up (I told y'all, I LOST MY MIND) and proceeded to rollerset on big orange perm rods (yep, also new. Judgement free zone).

Leave ins

I'm tired, it's getting late and trying specific rollers for the first time is always a little bit of a bitch

Not bad for a first time I thought.

By this time, it was closing in on midnight, so I decided to just sleep with the rods. It wasn't too uncomfortable, actually WAY more comfy then curl formers AND flexi rods.

So, this morning I took out the rods and then separated the curls just a little bit and that's all she wrote. Lord knows how long they will actually last since as you can see i didn't use a drop of holding product.

BTW, I apologise for the pics quality, my phone suddenly takes not as cool pics as a week ago, need to have it checked out.

Anyhoo, my hair LOVED all the products I used and ESPECIALLY loved the actual attention I gave it for a change. Complacency is officially out the window, I'm back in the hair journey saddle!

Monday, March 30, 2015

I know that I have been missing for a while, and I apologise. I wasn't really motivated to blog as I wasn't really motivated to give my hair the 110% it needs and deserves. I have been in a rut as well as quite busy at work. My hair hasn't been feeling great, I feel like I need to get rid of about an inch as well. There have been days where I felt like cutting it all off and starting this whole hair journey business all over again from scratch. See, I just was not in a good place to blog about my hair.

The past couple of weeks I've been in London for a training course, and managed to find a whole lot of products that I've only ever read about, that aren't available in my country. I went a little nuts, to the point that I had to pay for excess baggage when I checked in for my flight home. Primarily due to all the new goodies I am now again looking forward to washdays and trying out new styles and following my regimen the way it should be followed.

The next few posts will thus also be a lot of experiments due to all the new products in my bathroom. Of course I focused on conditioners and deep conditioners and leave in conditioners, buying only what is unavailable in Namibia and focusing on products that fellow bloggers have raved about and that are almost universally loved by the hair blogosphere. So, 2015, or at least the next 6 months of it, is going to be all about new experiences with the tresses. I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with you.

First things first though. Either today or tomorrow I am going to trim my ends. Nothing major, but my ends are really ratty and thin and awful and they need to GO. I'm planning to do that via a full wash and rollerset, with brand new shears.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

I just realised that I haven't written a blog post in over a month, almost two months actually, and I apologise for my disappearance. I have been feeling a disconnect to my hair. It's still breaking. And I'm exhausted trying to get it back on track. I am strongly considering simply putting it into box braids or twists this coming weekend and be done with it for the summer. I just can't deal anymore. Moisturising, protein treatments, minimal heat, nothing is working and helping. So I am kind of throwing in the towel and going to protective style through out the heat and humidity that is an African summer.

On another note, I told you ladies that I have started actually looking better after myself with the help of a dietitian and biokineticist. I had an evaluation yesterday and the results are in. Centimetres lost around my waist, lower abdomen and upper arms. Centimetres gained (muscle though, so yay!) around my chest. No change with my legs though, then again it doesn't surprise me, I have always had muscular calves and big thighs even when I was at my slimmest. 5.5 pounds lost, which sound like very little BUT I still did the happy dance yesterday because I shaved off a whole FIVE percent of BODY FAT!!!!! Which means that the scale is a bit of a liar, considering that clearly I've gained muscle. Don't believe the scale ladies!!

So here's my action plan for the majority of summer:

"Forget" about my hair - I am going to protective style using either box braids, twists or cornrows. This will also help to not stress about it during my workouts. Whilst in protective style, I'm going to moisturise like a crazy person using a spritz. Hopefully when fall hits, my hair will be in a much better condition than it is currently as well as actually be full APL. I will keep each protective style in for 4-6 weeks at a time, with a two week resting period in between. I'm sick and tired of struggling! And the most important reason - I don't want my hair interfering with my exercise regime anymore!

Work out like a beast! I recently moved to a new apartment complex. Right next to it they are in the process of building a small lifestyle centre which will include a gym. One of the incentives for new tenants was a 3 month gym voucher if you move in. So, apart from going to biokinetics 3 times a week, I plan to work out an additional 2-3 days a week in the gym right next to my apartment building. I plan to shave off at least an additional 3% body fat by January 2015 at least.

Right now I am very much focusing on shedding fat, gaining lean muscle and losing centimetres. The scale is not my friend and it actually depresses me, so I'm throwing away the scale. Besides, skinny girls look good in clothes. Fit girls look good naked. I wanna look good naked, lol. In addition, since it's summer, I am going to try and get to a swimming pool as much as I can. Swimming is an AWESOME full body workout, and it's way more fun than throwing the weights around. (Although I must admit, I do like strength training way more than cardio.)

Not sabotage my diet during the festive season. This is a tricky one. As it is summer here and the majority of us take our annual vacation time during December, there will be braai's (barbecues to my American lovelies) galore, so heaps and heaps of red meat (I'm African! There's no such thing as veggie burgers for us, lol), potato salad, garlic bread and cocktails. In addition to that, Christmas is only 4 weeks away, and we cook (and eat) like maniacs on Jesus' birthday. Which can be detrimental to ANY diet/eating plan.

So, first of all, I am going to substitute whiskey or scotch for all the sugar laden cocktails and ciders. It, along with vodka, has the lowest calorie count of all alcoholic drinks, especially if paired with water instead of some soda mix. Luckily I like whiskey and scotch, lol.

Secondly, I need to stick to my plan and routine as strictly as possible during the week, as the braai's and frivolity usually occur over weekends and thus I may indulge a little more than if I were cheating during the week.

Thirdly, I need to take charge of potato salads and make the German version instead of the traditional mayonnaise laden version. Because the German contains no additional fats like mayo but vinegar instead, its GI count is lower and thus healthier. But still yummy!

And lastly, I am going to incorporate smoothies as much as possible. It's refreshing and if self made one is assured of what you take into your body. Unfortunately Christmas day might be a big bust up to the diet. Then again, Christmas comes but once a year!

So, for the next few months I think I may focus a little more on my health and fitness and weight loss journey than my hair, I will however try to start writing wash day posts again, just to motivate myself regarding what's going on on top of my head.

What's everybody else's plans for the festive season and summer? And to my lovelies States side, what are your plans for the winter?

Monday, October 6, 2014

Yes, I have been slightly absent. A big reason for that is the fact that I have been feeling a disconnect to my hair and my journey. I fear that I am right in the middle of a set back.

As I told you in my last post, I have been experience a lot of breakage and shedding and very little has helped. Out of frustration I went to my stylist and we snipped off a good inch. I thought that getting rid of super raggedy ends would help curb the breakage, but to alas, to no avail. Well, not none, I'm still struggling though. My hair is still struggling to hold moisture, even after I infused more protein into my washes after recommendations from fellow bloggers and readers. I am experiencing demarcation breakage despite only being 6 weeks post. I am THIS close to relaxing my hair again and this time doing it myself and thus knowing that I'm doing it right. On the other hand I feel like starting a serious wigging or sew in regimen asap to hide my hair so as to help me retain some freaking growth. I am at the end of my wits.

What makes it harder is that for the past 4 weeks I have actually been on a much more active programme. I have been working with a dietitian and a biokineticicist, the former having me on a personalized eating programme and the latter grilling me on a personalized exercise regime. It's only been 4 weeks but so far I have dropped 9 cm (approximately 4 inches) around my waist and 3 pounds, so I am not going to quit. But it is not the greatest for keeping the hair in a good condition, my scalp and hair HATE sweat. So, Fitness Fridays ladies - HELP please. I work in a very staunch environment so airdrying after washing after a workout does not work, my hair becomes a hot frizzy pouffy mess, especially as we are entering summer my side and the humidity levels are already ridiculous.

Seems like my post today is a lot of moaning and bitching, but I would really like some advice, would be much appreciated.

On the plus side of my life, I performed on stage for the first time in years at Song Night, a spring board event here in Windhoek for aspiring singers. I am not planning to sing professionally, but after having such good feedback and feeling amazing after my performance, I know that I will do it again. Here's a little pic of me on stage, unfortunately I could not upload a video clip. Hopefully next time I will have the foresight to have a clip in a suitable format.

Well, that's all from me for today. A lot of complaining and feeling despondent about my hair. Feeling hopeful and determined regarding my weight loss. And feeling proud about my debut on stage.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

As y'all know, I relaxed my hair 2 weeks ago. Well, I had a wash day this past weekend and all kinds of bad things were happening.

Firstly - my hair was SO underprocessed that I am strongly considering doing a corrective relaxer once I'm 6 weeks post. Secondly, during EVERY stage - detangling, prepoo, shampoo, DC, rollersetting - the breakage was heart attack inducing! The last time I experienced breakage of this magnitude was BEFORE I started my healthy hair journey two and a half years ago. Thirdly, my hair is DRY! I have been TRYING since wash day to incorporate more moisture, to no avail. And lastly, I can simply TOUCH my hair and I end up with small broken strands in my hands. The shedding has also reached new levels of ridiculous. In total (sorry for the lack of pics) I lost a ball of hair the size of a plum! (sobbing over keyboard)

6. Proceeded to rollerset, and then left hair to air dry in the rollers.

4 hours of airdrying later I removed the rollers, wrapped my hair and went to bed. My hair looked smooth (I am an expert roller setter) but felt dry, full of static, it actually felt like straw. Since wash day I have been trying to moisturise and seal, using the D&L Amla Legend Wrapping Cream and coconut oil. My hair still feels like crap. It looks okay, but you ladies know looks are nothing compared to the feel and health of our strands.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

So I know that I have been a little absent, but I blame the crazy flu that has been doing the rounds here in my neck of the woods, as well as a pretty hectic work schedule. I am also trying to finalise my travel arrangements so that I can go to on my mini European vacation without worries or stress.

Hair wise a couple of things have happened though. I'm slightly pressed for time so please bare with me.

I had my hair touched up at 29 weeks post. It was during the time that I was sick and I simply could NOT handle my thick new growth whilst battling influenza. So I went to a salon, and lucky for me, it being a Wednesday morning, they were empty and I could be helped immediately. It wasn't my regular salon that I went to. Because I was booked off and lying at home sick I went to one that was around the corner of my apartment and that always looked very professional. I took my own relaxer - the ORS Olive Oil for Girls No Lye Relaxer Kit. I was a complete pain in the butt too, giving instructions as they work. Unfortunately (I don't know why this happened) I did not get the results I wanted. This salon is never seeing me again and here's why:

1. Hair was a tangled mess after neutralizing AND conditioning. I insisted on detangling it myself because this woman wanted to start ripping through the knots!! She gave me a stink eye for saying I want to detangle myself and for that ALONE they will not receive my business again.

2. She didn't do a proper job smoothing the relaxer. I did not want texlaxed hair and that's what I ended up with. Yes, it's still more manageable than my natural roots but now I STILL have two textures to contend with. And in about 6 weeks, it'll be three textures. I don't have the patience! Ain't nobody got time for that! I have self relaxed before using that exam same kit and I managed to get my hair processed to the desired level. So, there's another reason why I won't go back.

3. They didn't have a decent leave in conditioner that they could apply prior to rollersetting. At this point I wanted to rifle through their products and simply pick one! I even asked to then simply apply a Wella serum that was standing on the counter and I was promptly rebuffed and told that serums are applied after blow drying. EXCUSE ME??? It's MY dang hair! I know what it likes! Don't try to educate me when I'm a FIRST TIME customer!

4. Lastly I had to BEG them to apply a heat protectant prior to blow drying and finishing off with the GHD flat iron. BEG! Can y'all believe this nonsense?!

At least my hair looked nice walking out and the resulting blowout lasted over a week and remained soft and moisturised. But they will not be seeing me again.

Last week I realised that my hair needs a serious shot of protein. And I was sick of having pin straight hair. So I bought two packs of flexi rods and set myself up for wash day. Here's a brief synopsis of how it went:

Pre-poo using Dove Daily Conditioning Treatment for Colour Treated hair. Left on overnight covered with a plastic showercap and scarf.

Shampoo using Avon Smooth as Silk shampoo containing silk proteins. I LIKE this shampoo. Hair felt clean without feeling stripped.

Put in leave in of Smooth as Silk Serum from Avon and proceeded to set with flexi rods for the first time ever. First mistake - I did not have enough rods. I need to buy at least 1 more pack of ten. Second mistake - hair started drying as I was rolling and I did not re-wet it sufficiently so my ends came out a little wonky. Third mistake - not taking time into consideration. I had two birthday parties to attend later in the day and although I used my hand held dryer on the medium setting to speed the drying process along, some parts were still damp when I started to unroll which also led to wonky frizzy ends.

After almost 5 hours (washing, setting and drying time) I was already late so I pinned up the back and created a semi faux hawk, which everybody loved. And I still have curls today :-)

So, lessons learned - hair must be soaking wet when setting on flexi rods to ensure a smooth set and don't do a flexi rod set when pressed for time as the hair will not be sufficiently dry. Also practice makes perfect. This will NOT be the last set. Here's the results of my very first flexi rod set:

Monday, August 11, 2014

Yeah, I've been a little quiet, partly because I have been sick as a dog! I will update y'all on EVERYTHING bit by bit.

Right now though I am informing y'all that I am joining Jeni from JustGrowAlready in the 30 Days without Split Ends Challenge. I haven't been part of a hair challenge in a long time and I think this will help me get back on track where my hair care is concerned.

The rules are simple. Apart from the sign up it basically says that one should simply change one's regimen in at least one way to help reduce/prevent split ends.

Here's some of the changes I'm going to make:

1. ZERO direct heat for the rest of the month. Thus no blow drying, no flat ironing and NO going to the salon!
2. Intensify deep conditioning by doing overnight prepoo sessions and by adding sunflower oil (ceramides) to all conditioners.
3. Protective styling as much as possible. As much as I love showing off my length (come on! I never could before) I need to step up my pin up and braiding game to protect what I have gained.
4. Have a dusting at the end of the month if necessary.

I am hoping that the results are that not only am I rejuvenated in my journey but that I can enter summer being past APL.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

This past wash day went down without a hitch! One thing I realised (again) is that my hair LOVES deep conditioning, and I mean, intense deep conditioning!

Being 28 weeks post (woo hooooooo!!) is not the easiest thing, so I am keeping my hair straight for the most part, protecting it as I go along and then giving it super love on wash day and so far, even though the heat usage have been more than say 6 months ago, my hair has not been hating me. I am becoming a little bored with my pony tail and buns though...So, I've decided that I going to switch it up a bit and give it some Greek rebel flavor:

Naevia - Spartacus: War of the Damned

Naevia from Spartacus. I still need to perfect the trio of flat cornrows for this style. And I need to just get a clip in or two give volume to the ponytail part of the style.

So, wash day again took a long time but this time it didn't feel like torture. I applied my prepoo of Tresemme Naturals Moisturising Conditioner mixed with a LOT of sunflower oil (ceramides!! Lovely ceramides!) with my hair in about nine sections. I then covered my hair with a plastic cap and a scarf and out the door I went. I felt a little self conscious with my head covered whilst in the shop but then I remembered - this is Africa baby! No one cares! Especially not if they can't see what's happening underneath the pretty scarf, lol.

I then headed to my friend's house - we decided to collaborate on Sunday lunch and do our hair together. So when I got there I started with my dish (a thai inspired chicken stir fry) with my hair STILL being conditioned by the prepoo. When I finally rinsed it off I think two hours have gone by.

In any event, I then shampooed with my Organics Shampoo for Dry/Damaged Hair. My hair felt SO soft and fluffy! The prepoo really gave it a big shot of moisture. I then applied my DC of ORS Replenishing Conditioner, my hair still in sections. I again covered my hair with the plastic cap and scarf to trap heat and then we proceeded to have Sunday lunch. After that, I treated my friend's hair. She has a type 2c curl, but her hair is very thin. She likes to joke that she only has 3 hairs on her head. So deep conditioning treatments after a shampoo leaves her with oily looking strands. But her ends started looking like straw. It wasn't split but it was clearly very dry. So I grabbed her treatment mask, which was the L'Oreal Fibrology Moisture Masque, mixed in a good two table spoons of glycerin and applied to her dry hair like one would a prepoo. Shen shampooed with the Fibrology shampoo and instant conditioned with the Fibrology conditioner. Her niece Andrea then roller set her hair, which she then left to air dry in the rollers. Once dry Andrea flat ironed her hair and she was happy as a clam! The dryness that she had the last two inches of her hair was GONE, her hair was super shiny and it was flowy and not oily or heavy at all.

I then proceeded to rinse my own DC after sitting with it for 90 minutes (it is such a staple, it is not even funny! ORS should bring out 1.5 liter bottles of the stuff!) and then Andrea roller set my hair as well after I applied Avon Soft as Silk Serum with silk proteins as my leave in and protectant. Since I make a point of detangling at every step she had it quite easy despite the 28 weeks of new growth. She was gentle but fast! I lost next to no hair during the process, but she was still DONE in TWENTY minutes!!!! Remember, it took me TWO HOURS last week! I give credit to her fast hands AND the fact that my hair was like butter after the two intense deep conditioning sessions.

I left my hair to air dry in the rollers after which Andrea flat ironed it with a GHD straightener. My hair felt awesome!! Strong, soft, no breakage and ready for the week to come. I neglected to take pics on Sunday and I promise to remember my next wash day. Point is though - even with the heat, the fact that my hair was so super conditioned cancelled out the potential heat damage from the straightening process.

Regardless, I realised that having an extra pair of hands can really pay off, because even though the wash day stretched through out the day I didn't feel like I was torturing myself. The second thing I realised is that I should NEVER EVER skimp on the deep conditioning. My hair has been happy all week so far, and I don't see a change in the status quo any time soon even though my next wash day is only this coming weekend. The last thing I realised is that I might continue my relaxer stretch until summer at least. And only THEN decide whether I am going to relax or not. I'm kind of proud of myself for stretching for so long already, so I figure I might as well see how long I can go. Who knows, I might decide in September to touch up. I might decide to continue stretching. I might decide to start transitioning. The one thing I know for sure is that I need to stock up on my DC's and I may NEVER wash my hair without deep conditioning it, that now officially equates to a hair sin for me.

How has everyone else's wash days been? What have you realised is the most crucial step in your wash day routine?

Now, there are a number of steps that must be followed in the accepting of the award, the first being to tag the blogger who nominated me (see above).

The second would be to share 11 random facts as requested from Yvette, and here goes:

1. Which countries have you been to?

Well, I'm not as well travelled yet as I want to be, but I have been privileged so far to have been to The United States, South Africa, Malawi and my home country of Namibia. Germany and England don't count as I have only ever seen the insides of their airports. I am going on a little Eurotrip later this year so the list shall be growing in the very near future.

2. If you were a member of the opposite sex for a day, what is the first thing you would do?

This question is DEEP! Well, I already have a very masculine energy for a girl so there's a quite a lot that would take up my day - I would be the fly on the wall and ask my male friends all the questions that they would not answer if a girl asked it. But the FIRST thing I would do??? Pee standing up!

6. If you were having a dinner party and could invite anyone, alive or dead, who would you invite?

This is not easy. Well, I could answer with the usual responses of Nelson Mandela, JFK, Ghandi, MLK, Bill Gates, Oprah, but that has been done to death,it has actually become a bit trite. SO, at my dinner party would be my real friends and then I would add to the mix Emma Stone, Jennifer Lawrence, Miles Teller, Rihanna, Theo James, Dylan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Robert Downey Jr, Melissa McCarthy and Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park. THAT would be a PARTY!!!

7. Dogs or cats?

Both, but right now I have none. I don't have a yard and I will not subject any pet to apartment living.

8. Favourite form of exercise?

Dancing. But when I am actually working out, I like to mix up a bit of cardio with weight and resistance training.

9. What food do you have to be forced to eat?

Uhhhhmmmm...nothing. Okay wait, I'm lying. I DO NOT eat tripe and offal. Other than that - bring it on! Food is good. I like food.

10. If you had an unlimited budget, where would you go for your next vacation?

Unlimited budget? I would do a tour of the fashion capitals of the world and go on a shopping spree! I'm talking New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo. Of course whilst in those cities I would do more than just shop, I would do EVERYTHING else as well. And then to rest I would go to Santorini, Greece and lie on the lily white beaches for a week or two before returning to reality (with a whole new wardrobe and couture galore!)

11. If you won the lottery, what would be the fist thing that you spend, invest or donate it on?

Honestly, if I won the lottery tomorrow the very first thing I would do is scream my head off, take out my bestie and party like a crazy person. THEN I would pay off all of my own debts first, and then I would send my folks a big chunk of money so that they could cover what they want to. After that I would buy myself a new car and then I would go house hunting. Property is ridiculously expensive in Windhoek, Namibia, so buying a house would definitely be VERY high on the priority list.

There you have it folks!!!

The next step is to nominate 11 other bloggers worthy of recognition. Here are my nominees:

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Hola everybody. Yes, I know, I have been "off the air" for a bit. Multiple reasons - for example I went to a workshop in the bush cut off from civilization. During that week I realised that I truly am a city girl and NOT a country girl. I like the outdoors as much as anyone but can we limit it to 2 days and can we have wifi?

Also, the Soccer World Cup is finally over and thus life can return to normal. Yes, I am a rugby girl, but for this World Cup I decided to strap in for the ride and just enjoy. And it has been oodles of fun, this I admit.

In any event, regarding hair related things, I have been feeling a bit of a disconnect when it comes to my hair. I still do everything that is required on a daily basis - I moisturise and seal, I sleep with a satin scarf AND satiny pillows, I wear my hair in a protective style 95% of the time (either a French or Dutch braid, or a bun or a high pony) and I'm gentle. What I haven't really been doing is my usual wash day routines. Being 27 weeks post (longest stretch EVER) wash days are NO fun. So, I have been going to the salon relatively regularly since I found a stylist that actually cares about the health of my hair. That might also be the reason why I have been feeling a little disconnected...

In any event, last week I was sick (bronchitis) and didn't go to work for a few days. Day 3 of lying at home I decided to wash my hair so that I can feel better even though I wasn't healthy yet. So, I tackled 27 weeks of new growth, which is NO joke. I might actually do a touch up end of this month. I even find styling a chore with hair being as thick as it is now. At the same time I am fighting a bit of an internal battle...I've been surviving so long without getting a touch up, maybe I can push for 7 months...or a 10 months...or a year...or forever?? I don't know...

Anyhoo, I prepooed with a mixture of oils and conditioners - I basically decided to FINISH all those little bottles that only had about a 5th of product left in them. So I mixed up some Dark&Lovely Repairing Mask DC, some cheapie L'Oreal Mint & Cucumber Conditioner, some Coconut Oil, shook it up and then applied to my detangled hair in quadrants, braiding each quadrant so as to prevent further tangling. And BOY does my new growth LOVE single strand knots, d-d-d-d-damn!

Anyhoo, I then shampooed with Organics Shampoo for Dry/Damaged Hair quadrant by quadrant. If I didn't do this I probably would have ended up with a big ball of hair in my hand. Thank the hairgods that breakage was minimal and shedding was also not a problem. I then conditioned with ORS Replenishing Conditioner. I cannot talk enough about how much I love this conditioner. I deep conditioned for about 15-25 minutes. I then rinsed and then blotted the quadrants with my terry cloth towel until it wasn't dripping wet anymore.

I applied my leave in of MorroccanOil Leave In treatment and then detangled my hair quadrant by quadrant in preparation for roller setting. OMG!!! Now, THIS is why I have been going to the salon. The roller setting process alone took TWO hours!!!! Two hours of my life! Spent on getting what seems like a gazillion rollers in my hair, pulling it taught, stretching the roots whilst being gentle. Whilst rolling my hair was drying, so every time that I tackle a new section I would spray it with my water and Avon Quick Touch Leave In Conditioner mix. Hair needs to be wet whilst being placed in the roller otherwise you end up with a frizzed up hot mess.

After FINALLY being done rollersetting it was starting to get late and I was not in the mood to go to bed in the morning hours only. So I whipped out my hair dryer and dried my hair using the cool air setting. Once my hair was dry I spritzed on my Tresseme Heat Protectant and used the blow dryer's heat on my roots. Even though the rollers stretched it, the roots were still very thick and not easy for my to handle so using the heat to stretch it a little more I can actually handle my own hair. When I was done my arms were killing me but at least my hair was clean, soft and felt strong. I cross wrapped my hair after applying a little Amla Legend 1001 Oils Wrapping Lotion and applied my satin scarf and then I crashed HARD.

This coming weekend I am planning to actually properly PLAN my wash day so that I can do a good job WITHOUT it taking my SIX hours! I actually have some honey and Apple Cider Vinegar in my kitchen cupboard so I am planning to incorporate one of them in my next wash day, just haven't decided which one yet.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Hey there everybody. I have had the wash day from hell this past Saturday. My hair is behaving itself now, but trust me, my weekend was NO fun. Except for Sunday evening, which included a live show of Trevor Noah.

Twists still looking cute

Twists reaching expiration date. I got bored AND a lot of growth, so they didn't look neat anymore.

As y'all know, I had twists installed at the end of April and on Friday I decided that their expiration date has arrived. So I got home, grabbed my coconut oil, water spritzer, Tresseme Naturals conditioner, a pair of scissors and a plastic bag for all the synthetic hair that I'm going to remove. Friends have been informed that I am unavailable for any Friday night shenanigans and I mad myself comfy in front of the TV. Good thing that the Friday night TV line up doesn't suck - Intelligence, Almost Human and the grandaddy of good tv - Game of Thrones.

I began taking out the twists one by one and once I've removed about 4-6, I would concentrate on detangling that section of hair, using the coconut oil and conditioner and water and then twist it up before moving on to the next section. I don't know what happened - the last time I removed twists the process went rather smoothly and I lost very little hair, whereas this time I lost a hairball the size of a golfball. Murphy decided that my house was a good place to visit - SO MANY KNOTS, SO MUCH MATTING!!! I have no idea where I screwed up as my process was the same as last time...

In any event, I spent the whole night trying to be as gentle as possible, after Game of Thrones I even watched Penny Dreadful (I still don't know if I like this show...opinions out there?) and then I dove into my DVD collections and watched Thelma &Louise and Titanic, all whilst trying to get all the twists out and not cause unnecessary breakage. I finally passed out at 5 in the morning on Saturday, STILL not done, but after ELEVEN hours, I could not keep my eyes open anymore.

The Saturday morning I woke up at 10 o'clock, after about 5 hours of sleep and dove back into my hair. i FINALLY had everything out at noon, and ONLY because my bestie rocked and helped me with the ones at my crown.

See the look of frustration and sadness??!! All twists out, hair mostly detangled, about to receive its prepoo. So much matting!! Blegh!

Although I made a point of detangling small sections of hair, I could not get all the knots out. So I decided to to prepoo with the rest of the coconut oil and the conditioner in the hope that it would soften the knots so that I can have an easier time getting rid of them. Prepoo lasted a good 2 hours.

I then shampooed with Tresemme Naturals Shampoo. It may be low in sulfates but it lathers beautifully, without being stripping. I then instant conditioned with the Tresemme Naturals Conditioner and then proceeded to DC with ORS HAIRepair Nourishing Conditioner, for a good 90 minutes. I then proceeded to rollerset, and proceeded to lose ANOTHER mini golf ball worth of hair! (Que TEARS of frustration) Being 23 weeks post relaxer is not an effing joke, this I tell y'all! And this is despite being gentle, using my most trustworthy products!

I got myself some faux curlformers and when my hair was halfway dry in my regular rollers I decided I'm in the mood for real curls. It was my very first attempt at using curl formers, and the installation process wasn't too bad. After putting them all in, I left it to airdry completely. The packs I bought didn't have enough long curlformers to I struggled a little bit with my ends. I might try it again, but I need to buy another pack so that I have enough long ones.

End sticking out at places where the formers weren't long enough for my hair.

The roots are PUFF CITY!!

Curls immediately after removal.

SO not impressed with those straight ends sticking out...

Some nice curls, some seriously wonky ones!

I had a date the Sunday evening - Trevor Noah live at the National Theatre, so I thought the curls would be the perfect kind of cute. Unfortunately the curls fell and so I ended up pinning them up into a 50's style pinup with a couple of tendrils around my face.

Curls pinned back, looking good.

Come Monday and I am NOT happy with my hair. So, I suck it up, and go to the salon. There they detangle my hair and lo and behold, MORE KNOTS!! They were so gentle though, it was awesome. Had me hair washed and deep conditioned with HEAT (that only happens at the salon, I don't own a dryer), rollerset and then blown out straight.

Almost 24 weeks post and swanging!

I lost very little hair at the salon and today I'm sitting on 3 day old straight hair which is STILL soft and feels strong and moisturised. I'm 24 weeks post, the longest stretch of my life!! And I have decided to see what happens on my next wash day when I'm on the DIY train again. If the new growth kills my soul, then next week I will be doing a touch up. If it doesn't, then I might just keep stretching and I have no conceivable goal regarding how long I want to stretch. I'm just gonna see what happens. Hey, I might end up also transitioning. Or I'm gonna relax my hair next week! Who knows? The beauty of this being a JOURNEY.

I trust everyone else had a better DIY wash day than mine. It's almost the weekend, I'm looking forward to a much needed rest, so let's strap in everyone!

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Yep, it has been a while. And for that I apologise. With my twists now out I will be updating more often though. For some reason I wanna talk more about hair the minute I am personally dealing with my hair more.

But that's for another post. Right now I'm gonna tell you a little more about me and my craziness. Thank you so much to the fabulous Candice from myhealthyhairdiary for the nomination tag!

1. Are you named after someone?

Nope, not named after a person. However, I'm technically named after a Robin bird that came to sit on the window sill of my parents' bedroom when my mom was expecting me. the bird appeared and then I gave a swift kick and she saw it as a sign to name me Robyn .

2. When was the last time you cried?

About two weeks ago, I had a very stupid fight with a friend, and when I'm THAT angry, the tears flow.

3. Do you have kiddos?

Nope, not yet. It's still just me, myself and I.

4. If you were another person, would be a friend of yourself?

I would like to think so. Although I think two of me would be a bit much for the world to handle, lol.

5. Do you have a guilty pleasure?

The Facebook game "Criminal Case". It's the only game on Facebook that I play and it is awesome!

6. Do you like handwriting?

Not really. My handwriting doesn't stink but since finishing law school, which included 4 hour handwritten exam sessions, I appreciate the fact that I don't have to do it any more in general life.

7. What's your favourite cereal?

Honey Cheerios. Hands down!

8. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Their eyes and their smile. When I officially meet them, their handshake, it tells me a lot about what kind of person they are.

9. What's the colour of your eyes?

Depending on my mood, my state of health, the weather and my make-up, they range between chocolate brown and hazel.

10. Scary movie or happy endings?

I love scary movies, especially if watching it on a date. Because then I get to act like a girly girl and bury my face into his chest, lol. But I love scary movies in general. I don't mind happy endings, I've just become a bit sceptical about them...

I can see a romantic relationship happen between two people whilst they're still in the "we're just friends" denial phase. I can't see how long it will last, I can't see if it will end, but I can see it start before they even realise that they're nuts about each other.

15. Where were you born?

In Kimberley, South Africa. Literally surrounded by diamonds.

16. What are your hobbies?

Playing board games, reading (a LOT), going to the drags (I love cars and I love the races), stand up comedy and having good times with my bestie, which could range from goofing off to karaoke to having deep conversations over vino.

17. Do you have any pets?

Nope. Although I would love a kitty cat once I have a bigger place.

18. Favourite movie?

Independence Day. I'm a nut for action movies. And I can watch THAT one over and over again. Also currently LOVING all the Marvel movies (Iron Man, The Avengers, Thor etc)

19. What colour is your car?

Burgundy red

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Happy. Career wise I'm doing what I wanted to be as a kid, and that's law. But when I grow up, what I want to be most is happy.

Monday, May 12, 2014

So, I was just playing around on Youtube today when I found the tutorials below, and I am going to try all of these hairstyles during the tenure of my twists and long term protective styling. What hairstyles do y'all prefer when protective styling?

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Last we spoke I told y'all that I'm going home to my folks to have a bit of a rest, and boy, did I!! I got in a good 8-9 hours of sleep every night, I had NO social responsibilities and I lazed in front of the television like a person only does when you're on a lazy holiday.

Whilst I was home I squeezed in a wash day in preparation of having twists installed and long term protective styling for the next 4-6 weeks.

Prepoo using my D&L Anti-Breakage Healing Treatment on my dry hair, taking a LOT of care considering that I was working with a two day old braid out. My mother gave me a little bit of a side eye, very much not understanding this thing of putting conditioner on dry hair before it was cleansed. I just smiled and carried on, sitting with my prepoo for about 30 minutes.

I then jumped in the shower (YAY, a shower!!) and shampooed using ORS Aloe Shampoo. It really is a detangling shampoo! I love it. It also cleanses properly without stripping.

I then used my Elvive Triple Resist Conditioner as smoothing conditioner before applying ORS Replenishing Conditioner as my DC. My mum wanted us to go into town later so I knew I can't take TOO long with my wash day process. And with being 18 weeks post, every step takes a little longer anyway. So I ended deep conditioning for 15 minutes with my hair covered in a plastic cap and standing underneath the steaming hot shower.

I REALLY like ORS products - my hair felt SO soft, yet very strong. I think that I have this moisture/protein balance thing pretty much down, although I will never stop being vigilant about it. I then applied my leave in's of Avon 3D Rescue Treatment and MoroccanOil Treatment before roller setting.

I let my hair air dry in the rollers before taking them out and lightly flat ironing my roots, using only one quick pass. I then spent the rest of the time in a ponytail as the wind was wreaking a little bit of havoc in my home town.

I proceeded to moisturise and seal every night, preparing my hair for the intense manipulation that comes with having twists installed. On Tuesday I found myself at the salon, 4 packs of Darling braiding hair in hand and sat down for the long haul. Because my hair was stretched and well moisturised and I prepped with protein on my wash day the process went okay. Although I had to remind the braiding ladies to treat my scalp like that of a five year old. I walked out 3 hours later and N$ 300 (about 30 US Dollars) poorer. The residual mild tightness only lasted about 12 hours and today, 2 days after them installed the twists are comfy and I am chilled. Of course I got myself a good braid spray that is very moisturising with which I give my scalp and hair a good spritz in the evenings before bed. I still sleep with a satin scarf and I plan to wash my hair at least once a week.

I'm planning to wear the twists for 4-6 weeks. If I manage a full 6 weeks then I would be 24 weeks post upon removal of the twists, which would be my longest stretch EVER!! Depending on how I feel at that time, I will then either touch up or continue to protective style through out winter. But, let me not count my chickens before they hatch.

What do y'all do to assist in stretching longer? What are your go to long term protective styles? What are your staples on wash days? My staple brand is definitely ORS, no doubt. What's yours?

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Is anyone looking forward to the long weekend as much as I am? I dare ya to be as excited as I am! Not as if I actually have things planned, except RESTING and being lazy. I'm taking a mini vacation - going to my childhood home, visiting my parents and actually resting and recharging my soul and tired bones. I'm also looking forward to actually showing to my doubtful mother how successful in my journey I have been thus far.

As I told y'all on Monday, I will be protective styling for the week, up and till I get twists installed and go into intensive long term protective styling mode. I am more than 17 weeks post and I am working my damnest to make sure that I don't experience unnecessary breakage and shedding. Last night I braided my hair into 6 cornrows after moisturising with my Amla Legend 1001 Oils Wrap Cream and this morning I pinned up the resulting braidout.

As anyone can see, the kinks from the braid out isn't very pronounced, but my hair has a nice body and shine and my new growth is stretched and blended nicely with the relaxed length.

And that is what I want to talk about - today my hair IS healthy and it also LOOKS good. And up and till a few years ago I did not know the difference.

Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

A million years ago, as a law student at the University of Stellenbosch, I lived in a res by the name of House Erica. We were about 190 young women living under the same roof, and this is where I had my first experience regarding true sincere female relationships. It is also here where I realised that I've got a bit of flair when it comes to hair styling. Within a matter of months I had my hands full styling my friends' hair. Nothing fancy, but I could do a roller set, a blow out and curls to the straightest of white girl hair. I knew how to make hair LOOK good. At the time though I had know idea how to keep hair HEALTHY. During this stage of my life my hair was relatively healthy though, but it sure as hell wasn't because I was consciously looking after it, it was a happy coincidence from soft water, a constant high humidity which kept my hair moisturised naturally, a tendency to only relax my hair during the holidays when I'm home with the folks (thus I was stretching without even knowing it) and the fact that I have roller set my hair religiously since I was a kid.

Today, after scouring the hair blogosphere, after researching countless articles on how to keep one's hair at its healthy peak, after embarking on my healthy hair journey, I know what I must do to keep my hair healthy, especially considering that me AND my hair are a bit older and the environment and climate I live in now is not as conducive to one's hair as that of the lovely Western Cape. I know now that healthy hair practically automatically looks good, but that a good looking style does not necessarily equal a healthy head of hair. I know now that one's hair doesn't have to be straightened to within an inch of death to look good. I know now that styling comes secondary to caring. And I know now that I am still able to style hair, but in a much healthier way. I wish that I knew of healthy practices consciously years ago. At the same time, thank God I know them now!!!

Tomorrow is a public holiday here in these parts and I'm heading home to my mama's house. I am going to drag her to the shops and show her what staple products I use on my hair. I will show her which ingredients in hair products are more harmful than others and I will explain to her why I do what I do when it comes to my hair. Just because one has walked the wrong road for a long time, does not mean that anyone or anything is preventing you from turning around and taking another road. That philosophy applies to life, and right now I'm applying it to my hair. Thank heavens that I turned around and started taking care of my hair in order to get it healthy. Because now, as it is HEALTHY, I don't have to stress about it looking good. Because the healthier the hair is, the less and less often does one experience a bad hair day.

So, what is anybody planning for the weekend? (Lol, yes, mine is starting in 2 hours!!!)

Monday, April 28, 2014

Life is running away from me a little it, so I'm just quickly going to update y'all on my most recent wash days, how my hair feels to me and my plans for the immediate future.

I'm currently about 15 weeks post and people, my new growth is insane! The poof is real, and it's driving me a little crazy. At the same time, I'm not in the mood or ready to touch up. Don't ask me why, I don't know. What I do know is that I'm experiencing more demarcation line breakage that I'm comfortable with, so I am doing whatever I can do stop it in its tracks.

Here's a quick run down of my past three wash days:

Wash day before a wedding:

So, on the 19th of April I attended a friend's wedding. It was gorgeous in every way, from the table settings to the vows spoken by the bride and groom. The venue was also amazing, at a lodge outside of the city. Since my flat doesn't have a shower and only a bath I took advantage of the glorious shower in the chalet that I stayed in at the lodge. It has this massive shower head so it feels fantastic. I didn't prepoo based on lack of time between arriving at the lodge and the commencement of the ceremony. I shampooed using the generic tiny bottle of shampoo provided by the lodge, but I must say may hair didn't feel stripped in any way. Tangles were avoided despite being 14 weeks post at the time as I kept my hair straight from the week before and because DOWN pour of running water. I instant conditioned using L'oreal Elvive Triple Resist Conditioner and then deep conditioned using ORS HAIRepair Nourishing Conditioner for about 5-10 minutes, covering my hair with a shower cap whilst doing all the other things that need doing in a shower, which was blissful. After getting out of the shower I lightly towel dried my hair then applied my MoroccanOil leave in treatment and proceeded to roller set. My hair was so ridiculously soft, 14 weeks of new growth and all! (Note to self: buy more sachets of ORS HAIRepair Nourishing Conditioner - the hair likes it!) I then proceeded to dry my hair with my blow dryer on cool air and then straightened it with the iron, doing one quick pass to minimize the heat that touched the strands. My hair felt great and looked great. Unfortunately I was stupid enough to not pin it up, because at the end of the night, after MUCH dancing and sweating, I ended up French braiding it. It still felt good though, lol.

Wash day after a day of hiking and outdoor cooking:

The day after the wedding my other friends joined me at the lodge for a day of some quality time. We hiked a little around the dam, we played card games sprawled on the grass of our camp site and we put on a fire for the braai and potjie. Me and my friend Ashante also indulged in a bit of swimming, most probably our last for this summer season, as the weather is cooling down by the day. The plan was to keep my hair out of the water as we weren't "swimming" in the strict sense of the word, but were rather just frolicking and being silly. Inevitably though, we both ended up under water and hair soaked. When we left the pool I just did a quick rinse and then drenched my hair in the Elvive conditioner. We ended up chilling as a group till nice and late and I only got to taking care of my hair the next day. Being tired and VERY lazy what I ended up doing is drench my now dry hair in my Dark and Lovely deep conditioner and coconut oil, detangling gently as I went, losing very little hair. I wrapped my hair in multiple plastic caps and scarves to trap some heat and for the conditioner to do double time as prepoo and DC. After a few HOURS I got in the bath, just rinsed the DC, applied about cashew nut sized amount of shampoo to my scalp, my Elvive Conditioner and then my normal leave-ins and roller set. I think that was the closest I actually came to co-washing my hair. I straightened my roots again, because it is PUFF city!! I feel that the only way I can keep up with my routine is to make sure my roots are stretched. I then kept my hair like that for the week, mostly pinning it or wearing it in a pony tail.

The Wash day that I did not use any heat:

So, yesterday was washday, and I pretty much repeated what I did last weekend, except that I used more oil. I did my prepoo/dry DC using Gliss Ultimate Repair Mask with Liquid Keratine mixed with a LOT of coconut oil, as the mask itself has very little slip. I again used very little shampoo and used the Elvive conditioner again as instant conditioner. I applied my MoroccanOil Treatment and Avon 3D Rescue Leave-in Conditioner and then rollerset. Mistake nr 1 I made - too little shampoo. I realised whilst roller setting that my hair is actually a little oily still. But being tired and lazy (yes, that is my default setting!) I finished roller setting and then let my hair dry. When I removed the rollers my suspicions were confirmed - my hair was more oily. My roots felt great, they like it. My relaxed length - not so much. I decided then to not straighten my roots and to see what happens. As a consequence I am in protective styling mode via 40's and 50's pin-up styles. Of course, my bangs are not pinned up, my bangs are my little security blanket, lol.

Foreseeable future:

As I said earlier, I don't feel like relaxing just yet. It's just a feeling, I don't know why, because I'm not ready for the transition to natural, that much I know. BUT my new growth is driving me nuts and I am scared of breakage. So I've decided that next week I will be getting twists as protective style for a good 4-6 weeks. I must just remember to tell the stylist to not install twists at my nape, since that hair broke off the last time I had twists installed and they're finally back to where they were before, so I must just continue to baby them. Until I have the twists installed next week I am going to continue wearing pin up styles, perhaps try goddess braids and try to figure out how to give my new growth and demarcation line the most love I can possibly give it.

So, ladies, how have your wash days been? Has anybody else had this "I don't feel like relaxing, yet my new growth is killing me" phase?

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About Me

This blog was started as a doorway to write again. And now I do. Current major focuses are personal reflection and development, my healthy hair journey, weight loss and the remainder is the random ramblings of my mind as I observe the world around me.